Browsing: Lists

A Brief History On July 11, 1893, Mikimoto Kokochi of Japan invented a way to make cultured pearls, making pearl jewelry available to millions of women.  Many inventions over the years have been targeted toward women, sometimes welcomed with a sigh of relief and sometimes scorned.  Here we list 10 inventions oriented toward a female clientele.   Digging Deeper 10. Botox, 2002. Botulinum toxin is one of nature’s most deadly toxins, and yet people have it injected into their face to relax wrinkles.  At first a mostly female cosmetic application, many television and movie stars, newscasters, politicians, and people that can…

A Brief History On July 11, 1987, the human population of the Earth hit 5 billion, known appropriately as “5 Billion Day.”  Since then, July 11 each year is celebrated as “World Population Day” in an effort to raise awareness about global population issues.  Today, there are about 7.2 billion people alive on Earth.  Estimates for 2050 vary, but are in the area of 10 billion or so.  That is too many people!  Here we list 10 reasons we think there are too many people in the world.  Update, July 11, 2019:  In the summer of 2019, Weather.Com and other sources reported…

A Brief History On July 10, 1942, an American pilot spotted an intact Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter downed on Akutan island.  The Zero was recovered and restored to flying condition by the Americans and provided information needed to develop American fighters and tactics to cope with the Zero’s great performance.  Here we list 10 of the most formidable fighter planes American pilots have had to face in combat.  Digging Deeper 10.  Mikoyan and Gurevich MiG-29. Inflicting (disputed by allies) rare air to air kills on a British Tornado and an American B-52 during the 1991 Gulf War, the MiG-29…

A Brief History On July 8, 1994, Kim Jong-Il assumed control of North Korea upon the death of his father, Kim Il-Sung.  For the people of North Korea, it was like going from the frying pan into the fire, from one goof to an even jerkier goof.  Despite what Americans may think of their presidents, other countries have given history a parade of crackpots that have led countries as dictators, whether through color of office, military coup, or royal lineage.  Here we list 10 of the biggest crackpot dictators in modern history.  (Hint: If your leader wears a military uniform and…

A Brief History On July 7, 1456, Joan of Arc (Jeanne d’Arc) was acquitted of heresy.  Unfortunately, the acquittal came 25 years after she was convicted of heresy and burned at the stake.  Every so often someone gets railroaded into being executed, imprisoned, or discredited, often to the point of having their life and reputation ruined only to be vindicated later, sometimes even becoming a hero.  Here we list 10 such people.  (So many people have been condemned to death or life in prison that turned out to be innocent you would need a book to list them.) Digging Deeper…